How?
How did he know we'd need this?
How did he arrange this so quickly?
Kai turns to face me.
His expression is... strange.
Conflicted.
Pained.
Nothing like the controlled mask I've come to expect from him.
"Seraphine."
He says my name like it's a prayer.
Or an apology.
"For once in your life," he says, and his voice is rough, strained, "can you trust a Lawson?"
Trust a Lawson.
The family that killed my parents.
The family that's been trying to kill me.
The family that somehow became my pack.
I look at him.
Really look.
At the tension in his jaw.
At the way his hands are shaking slightly.
At the darkness in his dark gold eyes that suggests he's fighting something—maybe himself, maybe the situation, maybe decisions that have already been made.
Can I trust him?
After everything?
After the secrets and the silence and the history between our families?
My mind flashes through the past week.
Kai bringing me to the boutique.
Kai approving my scholarship.
Kai kissing my shoulder and telling me to perform like my life depended on it.
Kai looking at me like I was something more than an enemy.
Something worth protecting.
